iMedia: What would you like to hear Sir Martin Sorrell address in his keynote at ad:tech New York in November?
"If you had the power to change anything in the evolution of marketing, what are the three things you would do to move mobile advertising to its full potential in our industry?"
Ty Braswell, Founder, Creative Digital Strategies
"I would like to hear him address trust. Digital ads -- be they search or display -- are among the least trusted digital marketing tactics, according to Nielsen. How does advertising evolve if we don't trust it, and we can increasingly do our own research and tap people we know and do trust for guidance?" Steve Rubel, SVP/Author Micro Persuasion blog, Edelman
"I'd like to see him address his predictions on the U.S. economic recession (one, three, five years out), specifically as they relate to the communications industry. (WPP will have just reported third quarter earnings). In the address, the global impacts/balances that help offset U.S. recessionary strains, and his view of the 'lasting' trends that any communication professional needs to understand (e.g. political, environmental, globalization, etc), as well as what he sees as the biggest areas of opportunity for communications technology." Marti Funk, VP Marketing & Client Solutions, Sportgenic
"I am interested in finding out where Sir Martin Sorrell feels online advertising is headed given the growing importance of social networking sites, and the fact that display ads don't perform well there. Brands today can be present and engage with fans in fun and natural ways that get consumers talking and sharing branded content with friends. Does he see social engagement marketing replacing the need to do traditional display ads? Or does he see ads themselves becoming more social, with the ability to personalize them and share with friends?" Carnet Williams, Founder/CEO, Sprout Inc.
"What is the role of the agency in a changing advertising technology landscape? Ad exchanges such as Right Media, Google AdEx, and AppNexus are becoming critical sources of large-scale inventory for media planners. As the market for inventory becomes more liquid, data providers such as Blue Kai are decoupling data from media, bringing the media planner's dream of buying audiences versus inventory closer to reality. Companies are emerging with technology solutions, such as MediaMath and Invite Media, to enable agencies to efficiently capitalize on these new sources of inventory and data. That said, agencies are also going through a transformation. As the value chain has become increasingly automated, agencies have aggressively been investing in technologies to purchase inventory more effectively, in an attempt to increase their margins. Will agencies become technology companies? How will that effect ad networks and the existing technology value chain? What is the role of the agency in this new world?" Hooman Radfar, Founder/CEO, Clearspring technologies
"I'd like to hear him address how he sees large agencies being able to maintain the critical objectivity that marketers are looking for when they now own media, plan media, place media and measure media. Additionally, how does he see the agency compensation model(s) evolving in the coming years, given the pressures on retainers, media markups, and especially, quantified performance?" John Ardis, VP, Corporate Strategy, ValueClick, Inc.
"I'd love to hear Martin Sorrell discuss the differences between agencies born in the U.S. versus agencies born elsewhere, and how their trajectories into the holding-company arena differs." Angela Natividad, Editor, Adrants
"From search advertising to retargeting networks for display, ad buying is heading toward a world of intensely targeted, ubiquitous touch points, with both high and poor-quality display inventory sold by auction to the advertiser who most wants a given impression. Context, behavior, and demographics will all factor into pricing and buying decisions, and success in auction media markets will have a huge impact on overall marketing campaigns. Given that shift, how do CMOs need to re-think their media buying, attribution, and even creative strategies?" Kevin Lee, CEO, Didit
"In what ways are agencies struggling to adapt to social media, and in what ways do they add value to the client? What is the most important lesson you have learned when purchasing advertising companies in the past, and how have things changed in terms of valuation. What is the single best factor to predict the success of an agency, and why do some agencies fail and some succeed?" Brian Easter, CEO, Neboweb
"It is widely documented that the agency of the future will be fundamentally different than what we've seen in previous generations. But there is very little discussed about the client of the future. Given that the lines between digital, PR, social, and traditional are being blurred (and will soon be obliterated), what is the best way for brands to organize their departments internally? Although I work on the agency side of the business, I think it will be important for us to help guide our clients for both internal and external strategy." Jeff Rosenblum, Founding Partner, Questus
Gretchen Hyman is executive editor of iMedia Connection.
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